Bruiser

Rating:
Summary: Romero is back and back with a vengance
Review: Do you love George Romero? Well then you'll love "Bruiser", the story of an everyday guy whose identity is stripped from him and the only way to regain who he was is by revenge. Roemero does not disappoint with his first feature film since "The Dark Half." Romero's unique style of filmmaking sets this film apart from similiar films of the same genre. This film ranks up there with "Dawn of the Dead" and "Martin" as one of Romero's bests films.

Rating:
Summary: Bruise 'Em Right Back--Get Even-Romero Style
Review: Ever want to knock Bill O'Reilly, and his clones, into next Thursday, cause they keep telling you what to parrot so you too can be normal? Ever have dreams about beating your best friend's head into the cement steps he once tripped on, instead of catching him and keeping him from falling?; because this friend you trusted implicitly, two years later, cut two thirds of your soul out and doesn't even understand it, or remember?

This is "Bruiser" Country. In Psychologicalville, the 'tude toward this film's lead is--"it's Henry's fault. His wife wouldn't have cheated on him, his boss wouldn't have treated him like dog meat, his best friend wouldn't have betrayed him, if Henry hadn't let them. Henry has to take responsibility for his actions. He should stop having a pity party, yadayada." So he fights back instead. Having no face, he thinks he's allowed.

Instead of getting Ophra opened some afternoon, so Dr. Phil can stick his big fat head inside you and come on like he owns you, see instead "Bruiser." It is a tonic against the bull dozers who justify their own and others who all are "little murderers." They take pieces of you, like the people in the film take pieces of Henry, who is so used to it, he doesn't really think about it anymore. That's how they win.

The mask means no one ever notices him, so why have a face? It could also symbolize the comedy and tragedy masks, and perhaps a nod to mimes who are never heard and little noticed these days. Perhaps Anthony Newley's white face clown, Littlechap, from "Stop the World.." might also be in the mix. People get treated like clowns, by blowhards who know the scum rises to the top, and that's how to fit in with most of society.

The murders are great fun. Very cathartic. They remind me of a line from an "Outer Limits" episode in which a man is explaining why he killed another man in cold blood. The "victim" had been hurting the man's sister. He was asked to stop. He did not. So, what was the difference between his sister being murdered by the inch, and killing her tormentor all at once?

...--their kind. is done constantly. It is legal. You commit it by word and by silence and by betrayal. And you have the clean up boys come along and make you feel guilty because people have done these things to you. "Bruiser" hits the spot, feels good, has a wonderful head knock-yes...--ending.

It is great seeing a new George Romero film. "Bruiser" is pretty terrific. His movies always mean something. They are consistently intelligent, intriguing; there are constant surprises hidden, even on repeat viewings. I like him immensely.

Rating:
Summary: Romero isn't dead!
Review: George A. Romero once again proves to the world that he's not finished with his directing career with "Bruiser." This movie is amazing, incorporating both political and social messages with that of the complete antithesis, horror. I highly suggest this to any fan of the Dead Trilogy. Thank you once again George.

Rating:
Summary: Bruiser
Review: George A. Romero's Bruiser is really a great combination of horror and comentary of humanity. Yes you do see scenes of horror, a woman's head being crushed by a train, a woman being thrown out a window of a building with an extension cord wrapped securly around here neck, yes you do see things of this nature, but the main focus of the film seems to revolve around the life of an everyday guy who is walked on everyday of his life by his wife,boss (the 2 are sleeping together), his best friend cheating him out of money that belong to him, but one day he wakes up and his face is replaced with a white mask, he then starts to sink into insanity, carrying his twisted revege on all those who have wronged him. Romero shows this cruel and hard world that is sometimes true, but just as he shows this Romero also shows that even in the most unexpected places youn can find a real friend, someone that can give you hope when you need it most. Bruiser is not a striaght out horror film, it's more of a social commentary just as he had done earlier in his classic dead films, Romero this time shows maybe humanity is not all that bad.

Rating:
Summary: Very poor
Review: George Romero is definately one of the most interesting directors of his generation. This film however is very poor. It is not really a film, more a badly acted TV movie.

There is a promising premise to the film about a man stripped of his identity and there are parrallels with the Phantom of the Opera and elements of grand guignol. All this however is left to rot in what is simply a mediocre, schlocky, exploitation B-movie, and that makes it sound more interesting than it is. Avoid.

I wonder how talented directors are reduced to making such mediocre product? John Carpenter is another genius who has fallen on hard times.

Do yourself a favour and check out the 'Dead' trilogy, Martin, Knightriders, Season of the Witch and The Crazies (the last two not available on DVD), to see Romero at his innovative best.

Rating:
Summary: This guy is a genius
Review: George Romero is incredibly insightful. The kind of insightfulness that allows you into, not only the world at large, but your own world, staring backwards at the covers and folly.
I wrote the score for Bruiser and I am always amazed at the character, the poignancy, the railing arms flailing of a lost hope and frustration.
George is a dream to work with - you feel honored.
Donald Rubinstein

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: George Romero's contributions to the horror genre are legendary. Here is the guy who made "Night of the Living Dead" in the late 1960s, single-handedly bringing flesh-eating zombies into the lexicon of millions of horror fans. Two sequels followed with differing levels of success, but Romero's zombie films most importantly inspired several Italian directors, most notably Lucio Fulci and Umberto Lenzi, to churn out a plethora of grue drenched films featuring the shambling dead. Of course, Romero didn't just sit around during the intervals between zombie films; he made other films that, while not as well known as the trilogy of "Dead" films, are eerie in there own right. There is, of course, the gritty picture "The Crazies," a film about a viral infection's devastating impact on the residents of a small Pennsylvania town. Another one of these movies is his latest one, "Bruiser." "The Crazies" was a great, low budget effort that really worked on many levels. Sadly, "Bruiser" is a poor vehicle that, in my humble opinion, rarely works on any level and sullies this director's reputation in the horror genre.

Bruiser is the name of a fashion magazine where the film's protagonist, Henry Creedlow, spends his day trying to earn a buck. And work he must, for his life appears to be one huge money pit. His gorgeous wife Janine expects a lot from her husband, like nice cars, fancy clothes, and a huge house decorated with expensive accoutrements. Not content when she receives these nice things, Janine hounds Henry constantly about not standing up for himself. We soon learn that she has a point: Creedlow wines to his stockbroker pal, who just happens to handle Henry's finances, about not earning enough money on his investments. Henry doesn't really do anything drastic, like change brokers, but instead stews quietly to himself about his cash flow problems. More challenges await Henry in the deteriorating relationship with his boss at the magazine. Milos Styles is a world-class jerk; a domineering, spastic dragon who takes great joy in belittling those around him. Although Creedlow has a good relationship with Styles's estranged photographer/mask sculpturing wife, Milos makes him want to scream. But what's a guy in debt up to his eyeballs going to do? Quit? That's out of the question. Instead, Henry Creedlow internalizes his anger, only occasionally indulging in imaginative acts of bloody violence carried out against his persecutors. For example, when a pushy woman elbows her way ahead of Henry at the train station, he fantasizes about pushing her underneath the train and revels in seeing the wheels roll over her head.

Things are about to get worse to the nth degree. Problems arise when he sees wife Janine and boss Milo fooling around at a work party. His wife actually has the nerve, when confronted by Henry about her indiscretions, to argue with him over his meek acceptance of her adultery. This incident is the straw that breaks the proverbial camel's back, and Janine secretly plans to leave her weak willed husband. At this point, something interesting happens. Henry awakens from a night's sleep and discovers his face covered by a mask eerily similar to one Milos's wife gave him the day before. Our hero panics when he realizes the mask is somehow molded to his face, completely impervious to any attempts at removal, and now really is anonymous to the outside world. He uses the mask as a means to get revenge against his oppressors and chooses Janine as his first target. When Creedlow learns how successful the operation against his wife was, he plans other attacks that threaten his embryonic relationship with Milos's wife while bringing in unwanted attention from the police. The movie concludes at a party thrown by Milos for his employees and models, where Creedlow must decide if his ultimate revenge plot is worth risking his life.

I loved the first twenty or thirty minutes of "Bruiser." Only a cold-hearted jerk would fail to empathize with Henry's plight. Here's a successful guy who has got it all, and no one pays him an ounce of respect. Romero makes sure that the enemies arrayed against Creedlow adequately embody evil, from the snotty Janine to the overbearing Styles. You just know "Bruiser" is going to turn into a revenge film with Creedlow gunning for his enemies. The only question is what type of revenge film we will see, and it is in this aspect that "Bruiser" ultimately disappoints. After Creedlow woke up with his white mask, the movie started to drag horribly. I knew I was in trouble when I kept glancing at the clock on the mantle and found myself astonished that only a few minutes had gone by when it felt like hours. This film is horribly arthritic for a revenge picture, with so much time passing between killings that boredom rapidly sets in. Even worse, the murders we do see are rather tepid affairs definitely not worth the wait.

A few things really work for the movie. I can't remember the last time I saw such a stylish film, with characters wearing expensive looking clothing interacting in houses loaded with sumptuous decorations. A few of the characters, particularly Styles's wife, appear downright patrician in their demeanor and appearance. If only Romero had contrasted the posh surroundings with some gritty violence, "Bruiser" could have been a real winner. As far as the DVD goes, you get a gore filled music video from The Misfits, a commentary from director Romero, and trailers for "Bruiser," "O," and "Faust." You get a nice picture transfer too. Romero will have to do better than this if he wants me to sit down with one of his pictures in the future, however.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: George Romero's contributions to the horror genre are legendary. Here is the guy who made "Night of the Living Dead" in the late 1960s, single-handedly bringing flesh-eating zombies into the lexicon of millions of horror fans. Two sequels followed with differing levels of success, but Romero's zombie films most importantly inspired several Italian directors, most notably Lucio Fulci and Umberto Lenzi, to churn out a plethora of grue drenched films featuring the shambling dead. Of course, Romero didn't just sit around during the intervals between zombie films; he made other films that, while not as well known as the trilogy of "Dead" films, are eerie in there own right. There is, of course, the gritty picture "The Crazies," a film about a viral infection's devastating impact on the residents of a small Pennsylvania town. Another one of these movies is his latest one, "Bruiser." "The Crazies" was a great, low budget effort that really worked on many levels. Sadly, "Bruiser" is a poor vehicle that, in my humble opinion, rarely works on any level and sullies this director's reputation in the horror genre.

Bruiser is the name of a fashion magazine where the film's protagonist, Henry Creedlow, spends his day trying to earn a buck. And work he must, for his life appears to be one huge money pit. His gorgeous wife Janine expects a lot from her husband, like nice cars, fancy clothes, and a huge house decorated with expensive accoutrements. Not content when she receives these nice things, Janine hounds Henry constantly about not standing up for himself. We soon learn that she has a point: Creedlow wines to his stockbroker pal, who just happens to handle Henry's finances, about not earning enough money on his investments. Henry doesn't really do anything drastic, like change brokers, but instead stews quietly to himself about his cash flow problems. More challenges await Henry in the deteriorating relationship with his boss at the magazine. Milos Styles is a world-class jerk; a domineering, spastic dragon who takes great joy in belittling those around him. Although Creedlow has a good relationship with Styles's estranged photographer/mask sculpturing wife, Milos makes him want to scream. But what's a guy in debt up to his eyeballs going to do? Quit? That's out of the question. Instead, Henry Creedlow internalizes his anger, only occasionally indulging in imaginative acts of bloody violence carried out against his persecutors. For example, when a pushy woman elbows her way ahead of Henry at the train station, he fantasizes about pushing her underneath the train and revels in seeing the wheels roll over her head.

Things are about to get worse to the nth degree. Problems arise when he sees wife Janine and boss Milo fooling around at a work party. His wife actually has the nerve, when confronted by Henry about her indiscretions, to argue with him over his meek acceptance of her adultery. This incident is the straw that breaks the proverbial camel's back, and Janine secretly plans to leave her weak willed husband. At this point, something interesting happens. Henry awakens from a night's sleep and discovers his face covered by a mask eerily similar to one Milos's wife gave him the day before. Our hero panics when he realizes the mask is somehow molded to his face, completely impervious to any attempts at removal, and now really is anonymous to the outside world. He uses the mask as a means to get revenge against his oppressors and chooses Janine as his first target. When Creedlow learns how successful the operation against his wife was, he plans other attacks that threaten his embryonic relationship with Milos's wife while bringing in unwanted attention from the police. The movie concludes at a party thrown by Milos for his employees and models, where Creedlow must decide if his ultimate revenge plot is worth risking his life.

I loved the first twenty or thirty minutes of "Bruiser." Only a cold-hearted jerk would fail to empathize with Henry's plight. Here's a successful guy who has got it all, and no one pays him an ounce of respect. Romero makes sure that the enemies arrayed against Creedlow adequately embody evil, from the snotty Janine to the overbearing Styles. You just know "Bruiser" is going to turn into a revenge film with Creedlow gunning for his enemies. The only question is what type of revenge film we will see, and it is in this aspect that "Bruiser" ultimately disappoints. After Creedlow woke up with his white mask, the movie started to drag horribly. I knew I was in trouble when I kept glancing at the clock on the mantle and found myself astonished that only a few minutes had gone by when it felt like hours. This film is horribly arthritic for a revenge picture, with so much time passing between killings that boredom rapidly sets in. Even worse, the murders we do see are rather tepid affairs definitely not worth the wait.

A few things really work for the movie. I can't remember the last time I saw such a stylish film, with characters wearing expensive looking clothing interacting in houses loaded with sumptuous decorations. A few of the characters, particularly Styles's wife, appear downright patrician in their demeanor and appearance. If only Romero had contrasted the posh surroundings with some gritty violence, "Bruiser" could have been a real winner. As far as the DVD goes, you get a gore filled music video from The Misfits, a commentary from director Romero, and trailers for "Bruiser," "O," and "Faust." You get a nice picture transfer too. Romero will have to do better than this if he wants me to sit down with one of his pictures in the future, however.

Rating:
Summary: meet the fiend without a face...
Review: hokay...here we go...got to admit, i only bought this disc for the misfits video "scream" in its special features list. it is indeed the only special feature. no commentary, no trailer, no nothing. with the exception of NOLD and Dark Half, i also must confess to not being a george romero fan ( a world where romero gets more praise than tobe hooper simply scares the hell out of me)...now, that being said, bruiser was good. i was surprised. the story was strange, the performances low key, the blood-letting suprisingly low. nothing really special here...except the concept...put-upon man wakes one morning with no face and proceeds to use this semi-anonymity to take revenge upon those that have wronged him...the featureless protagonisdt of the story is creepy, harkening back to the stark white terror that mike meyers mask portrayed in Halloween, so i guess even that was pretty derivative. the misfits have a big chunk on stage at the flick's end...

Rating:
Summary: Sorry, But I'm Disappointed with New Film of Horror Maestro
Review: I always welcome any works by great creators of this genre -- I even went to theater to watch John Carpenter's vampire flick -- and the name of George A. Romero never fails to interest me. But his newest film, made after 8 year absence since not-so-good "The Dark Half," is a big disappontment.

Jason Flemyng is Henry, who is leading an unhappy life with his unfaithful wife. At his office, uncompromising tyranny of his boss is waiting for him. One day, he finds his face is turned into total blank as if completely erased -- like a white mask he saw at the party last night. Is this a chance to do something he normally can't? Or is this a curse? So, what he's gonna do?

Though the idea is original, Romero fails to develop it fully, being content with the initial half-baked concept. I am sorry to say this, and I don't change my attitude to this respected director, but I think Romero needs to show what he wants to do in the film. Sometimes the film is unexpectedly funny (the ending scene is pretty funny and cool), and sometimes scary (especially his first reaction to his housemaid), and those parts are OK, I admit. But Romero seems to find too much sense in Henry's white, expresionless face. Is he going to revenge all the people who bullied him in the past? Or should he stop, listening to a piece of good advice his female friend kindly gives? Between those options Henry wavers -- and I know that's supposed to be the point -- but the film takes too much time to show his conflict, which is a too obvious one. Romero's horror masterpieces in the past indeed dealt with these philosophical topics, but not so heavy-handedly to destory the good pace of the entire film.

And in the end, Henry does what he does in the most contrived fashion, using laser, with the sound of The Misfits (who also appears). I admire Romero's usually underrated works, which are sometimes unduely labeled "cult" films, but here, in "Bruiser," he put more ponderous things than he should have.